Nate Robinson has been putting on for his city ever since he stepped into the spotlight way back in 2006. That was when he won his first Dunk Contest in a New York Knicks uniform, beating out Andre Iguodala. The kid from Seattle was on fire, gaining national attention, 3,000 miles away from home.

“New York City, man,” Robinson says. “New York City been showing me so much love, playing with the Knicks. I didn’t understand it, until years later. The city, they loved me, they respected me for the hard work I put in. Everything I did, I wanted to represent first and foremost my city in Seattle, WA, and playing for the Knicks, I was welcomed in for playing in New York. I felt like I was from the city. They pretty much started me on my quest.”

Robinson’s quest has been long. From his roots in Seattle, he’s played for the Knicks, Celtics, Thunder, Warriors, Bulls, Nuggets, Clippers and Pelicans. That’s a lot of jerseys and a lot of memorable moments. Seriously, go back and YouTube some of his greatest hits. And not just the three Dunk Contest wins (more on that in a bit).

Now Nate Rob is playing in Tel Aviv, Israel, for Hapoel, where he says he’s having a blast. “I love it here,” Robinson says. “It’s surprisingly super hot. There are a lot of palm trees, beaches, the water’s crazy. The world seems so small from social media, but the world’s a big place. It’s beautiful.”

The latest part of Robinson’s quest includes a dip into the business world. He’s part of the ever-growing Strideline, a Seattle-based sock company. Robinson was introduced to the Strideline crew through his brother, who went to college with the co-founder of the biz. After seeing the Pocket Sock up close, Nate says he and the company connected because of their shared ideals, developed in the Emerald City.

“They believe in what I bring from being out of Seattle and being a home guy, being from the 206 and representing what they believe. They believe in hard work, dedication, fun, swag, a whole bunch of great things. They pretty much saw that in me,” Robinson says.

That Seattle pride. A staple of not only Nate, but all the other NBA players to come from the Pacific Northwest. It comes from, Nate says, people not really taking his city seriously. He rattles off the names. Jimi Hendrix, Bill Gates, Jamal Crawford. It’s also about letting the kids and the community know that it’s OK to have dreams and ambitions. That he was once a kid in Seattle, running around the city just like they are.

“That’s something that every kid growing up, especially in the ’90s, your mom gave you a couple dollars to go to the store or chill with your friends,” he continues. “You put your money in your sock. To come up with the pocket sock idea, I thought it was genius.”

After working together with the design team, Robinson says the socks that he and Strideline are about to produce provide just the right amount of comfort and style.

“Socks represent yourself,” Robinson says. “Who you are, what you stand for, what kind of personality you have. You gotta have a fresh pair of socks on with a fresh pair of kicks. That’s just my rule.

“Comfort was a biggie,” he continues. “The socks are extremely comfortable. And the way it looks, being presentable. Like Deion Sanders said, ‘You look good, you play good.’”

At his peak, that quote applied to Nate to an extreme level. Back in the ’09 Dunk Contest, little Nate jumped up and over big Dwight Howard. This was when Dwight was the best center in the NBA and people were calling him Superman. When Nate came out with the green Knicks jersey and the neon green Nike Foams, well, KyrptoNate both looked and felt good.

His bunnies helped the Dunk Contest stay afloat, something that few others have been able to accomplish since Nate last won in 2010. Until this year, of course.

“They brought the Dunk Contest back,” Robinson says. “It was down for a little bit. What Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon were doing was unbelievable, man. It should’ve been a tie. I’m glad Zach won, he’s representing Seattle, but that was a Dunk Contest for the ages. They should’ve had two trophies for both of them guys. My kids were going crazy. I was in awe.”

Nate Rob doesn’t think the decline of the Contest is solely on the dunkers. He wants the League to loosen the reigns a little.

“They gotta find the best athletes in the NBA that can jump and just let them go out and dunk,” the three-time Champ says. “There are just too many rules with the Dunk Contest. It needs to be a little more loose and freelance. When you’re in the gym with your boys, after you hoop, guys always used to just throw the ball and just start dunking. That’s where your creativity comes from.”

He also wants music to play during each dunk, something that the participants pick. If he was still in the Contest, he’d pick a (censored) Migos song. “They get you hype, they get you full of energy, full of bounce, ready to go, ready to get it in,” he says about the trio from Atlanta.

Nate’s all ready to give the NFL a legit shot after he gets home in June, but he says he also knows his NBA days aren’t over. “There are a couple coaches that just got called up, so who knows? If a coach can get back, I can get back. Just a matter of time.”

Peter Feigin, the Milwaukee Bucks’ president, made a not-so-vague threat Monday while speaking to Wisconsin lawmakers: according to the exec, the NBA will not hesitate to relocate the franchise to either Seattle or Las Vegas if $250 million in public funds isn’t quickly approved for a new gym.

At an informational hearing held by the state Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee, Feigin said the Bucks owners’ purchase agreement for the team includes a provision that construction of a new arena start in 2015. If that does not occur, he said the NBA will buy back the team for a $25 million profit and move them to “Las Vegas or Seattle.”

“The window is closing,” Feigin said. “We can’t wait months, even weeks to start the public process.” […] The Joint Finance Committee hearing was continuing Monday afternoon with Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele set to testify. The state Senate could take up the bill as early as Tuesday. It was dropped from the proposed state budget last week.

Feigin said the team needed to start construction by October or November to avoid the NBA starting a process of seeking buyers for the team. The team’s lease at the BMO Harris Bradley Center expires in 2017, he said. […] “The NBA does not want the Bucks to extend the lease in an inadequate facility,” he said.

As I write this, the Seahawks are heading to the Super Bowl, with brash cornerback Richard Sherman’s name on everyone’s lips. As I write this, people are dancing in Seattle’s streets, in full fever over being at the center of the sports universe. As I write this, Kevin Durant is living the life of having the inside-track on the 2014 NBA MVP award, splashing shots from every angle and dropping threes like he is throwing oranges in a garbage dumpster. He is doing it for a team without their second best player in fellow All-Star Russell Westbrook. He is also doing it for a team with a name that sounds like it was ripped from a roller derby squad and in a city that by any conceivable metric should not be home to an NBA team.

Yes, all love to Oklahoma City for making it work and supporting the Thunder. But I’d love to see what the crowds look like once Durant has moved on to another team or retirement. This is a team that has become must-see television though the individual greatness of one 6-9 three-point god, who plays like an elastic Dirk Nowitzki with a mean streak. The power of Durant in 2014 forces me to wonder what the sports world would be like right now if Clay Bennett had never ripped the Sonics out of Seattle and dropped them in the heart of his wife’s family’s fortune in Oklahoma City. Imagine the Seahawks in the Super Bowl while Durant is making three-pointers look as easy as a game of Hungry Hungry Hippos. I wish the Sonics were around right now so much that I’m walking around with a Slick Watts headband on in protest that the world is not how I want it to be.

Much has been written about the fact that Durant, a basketball ascetic, likes Oklahoma City because there are “no distractions” and he can just concentrate on playing ball. Another way to put this is that he likes Oklahoma City because it limits the possibilities for a 25-year-old with cash in hand to get into any in-season mischief. But the man and the city are a mismatch. Seattle fits KD like hand in glove. They would have been inseparable like Baltimore and Cal Ripken Jr. Durant himself said in 2010 after the move was made, “I miss Seattle a lot. It was my first city that I lived in on my own. It was a great city to play for. It was unfortunate for the fans what happened, but it’s time to move on. I’m sure they’ve moved on. But in the back of my mind, I still have a thing for Seattle and always am going to remember what they’ve done for me.”

Durant loved Seattle because, frankly, it’s lovable, with a hoop culture that is second to none. It is also a city, however, that is progressive enough that it refused to accede to the threats of Clay Bennett and David Stern. They would not hand over $300 million in tax money to finance a new arena. Schools were being closed because of underfunding, homelessness was on the rise, and for too many people in Sea-town, giving a billionaire a few hundred million more was an obscenity.

I spoke with Jesse Hagopian, a teacher in Seattle who led a nationally recognized boycott of the state’s standardized testing regime. He is currently running to be the youngest teacher’s union president in a major American city. Jesse said to me, “I grew up with Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp and we miss the Sonics every day. The thought taking my own little kids to see the Durantula gives me chills just to think about it. But in Seattle we had just paid for a new baseball stadium and just paid for a new football stadium. We were sick and tired of being held up when there were so many needs across the city. I personally wish the state had just taken over the team like the Packers. Maybe next time….”

In 2014, the sports world should have belonged to Seattle and it does not. Now as the NBA Commissioner begins his slow stroll toward retirement and the tributes begin, we should never forget that the absence of Durant in a Sonics uniform will always be the most shameful part of the Stern legacy.

Chris Hansen, the billionaire who tried and failed to take the Kings from Sacramento and bring them to Seattle, has received a very light slap on the wrist. Hansen was fined $50,000 for his role in an attempt to sabotage a new arena deal in Sac-Town. Per the AP: “The California Fair Political Practices Commission found that, just days after the NBA rejected Hansen’s $625 million bid to buy the Sacramento Kings and move them to Seattle, he gave $100,000 to a group leading an effort to thwart Sacramento’s efforts to keep the team. A group of investors led by technology executive Vivek Ranadive bought the team for $535 million, one day after the NBA rejected Hansen’s bid. The NBA has said that Sacramento must build a modern arena to keep the Kings in town. The team’s new owners have set a 2016 target. The state political watchdog found that Hansen gave $100,000 to a group gathering signatures to thwart Sacramento’s plan to keep the team by forcing a citywide vote on the city’s planned $258 million subsidy for a downtown arena. Hansen tried to buy the team earlier this year as city officials scrambled to find a buyer who would keep the franchise in Sacramento. The FPPC said Hansen is being punished for failing to file a campaign statement. Hansen has agreed to the fine, and the commission will vote to make it official. The hedge fund manager has apologized, saying he regretted his actions.”

A month after losing out on buying the Kings, Seattle businessman Chris Hansen paid $100,000 to block a new arena deal for Sacramento’s basketball team. After being exposed, Hansen apologized on his website: “I made a mistake I regret. When our binding agreement to purchase the Sacramento Kings became a competitive situation and we were faced with both the prospect of seeing our transaction fail and losing our $30 million deposit, I engaged Loeb & Loeb to canvas the various opposition groups to gain an understanding of their efforts and the prospects of their success. During this time I was approached through Loeb by the opposition about making a contribution to the opposition’s efforts as part of a broader group and agreed to make a donation. […] While I’m sure everyone can appreciate how easy it is to get caught up the heat of battle, with the benefit of hindsight, this is clearly a decision I regret. I wish the city of Sacramento and Kings fans the best in their efforts and they have my commitment not to have any involvement in their arena efforts in the future.”

OKC Thunder superstar Kevin Durant is likely headed back to Seattle, where his NBA career began. KD is one of the NBA stars (along with Jeff Green) expected to take part in Jamal Crawford’s Pro-Am this weekend. Per the Seattle Times: “The Oklahoma City Thunder superstar and Jeff Green, who starred with Durant during their one season in Seattle, are expected to be the headliners this weekend at the Jamal Crawford Summer Pro-Am. For a league that bills itself as ‘All Hoop, No Hype,’ promoting the return of the former Sonics goes against the pro-am’s mantra. There’s also no guarantee Durant or Green will show up. However, tournament organizers are preparing for big turnouts at Seattle Pacific University, where the games are played. Green is expected to play 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Durant is scheduled to play 4 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $5. ‘I’m usually hesitant about making these kinds of announcements until I see guys actually walk into the gym, but Jamal tells me this is a done deal,’ said tournament director Rashaad Powell. ‘The flights are booked. The hotel reservations are set. Now we’re just waiting for the show. And it should be a great show.’ If the former Sonics stars return, give credit to Crawford. He has been working to secure NBA stars such as Blake Griffin and Kyrie Irving to compete in his summer tournament, which includes college and high school players. Several NBA standouts including Tyreke Evans, Martell Webster and Isaiah Thomas have competed this summer. But landing Durant was the top priority. This isn’t the first time Durant and Green have been scheduled to play in Seattle. Two years ago, they were included in an lineup of NBA stars for a charity game that was ultimately canceled. ‘Kevin was going to do it in the past, but one year we had the lockout and last year it just didn’t work out because he was in the Olympics,’ Crawford said weeks ago. ‘He’s always wanted to come back and play in Seattle. It’s just a matter of finding the right time.’ Durant, the Sonics’ No. 2 pick in the 2007 draft, last played in Seattle five years ago in a game Sonics fans may never forget. Back then, the 19-year-old scoring sensation led the Sonics to a 99-95 comeback victory over the playoff-bound Dallas Mavericks. It was an emotional game for the 16,272 in the stands who alternately chanted in support of the local team and against its new owner, Clay Bennett, who relocated the team after 41 years in Seattle.”

Several NBA players showed up for Jamal Crawford’s #BringBasketballBackToSeattle Pro-Am game. The mayor of Seattle, Michael McGinn, was the victim of a Tyreke Evans crossover (though, to his credit, McGinn came right back and made a nice dish).

]]>http://www.slamonline.com/media/slam-tv/tyereke-evans-with-nasty-crossover-on-seattles-mayor-video/feed/8SLAMonlineShawn Kemp Believes Seattle Will Receive an NBA Team in Two to Three Yearshttp://www.slamonline.com/nba/shawn-kemp-believes-seattle-will-receive-an-nba-team-in-two-to-three-years/
http://www.slamonline.com/nba/shawn-kemp-believes-seattle-will-receive-an-nba-team-in-two-to-three-years/#commentsWed, 24 Jul 2013 15:09:00 +0000http://www.slamonline.com/online/?p=280609

Of all the people truly hoping the League would vote to send an NBA franchise to Seattle this past spring, few were as deeply invested—in all senses of the word—as Shawn Kemp. Of course, the big man is a SuperSonics legend who’d naturally like his personal basketball history to live on and be celebrated with an active squad. But Kemp also owns bar/restaurant Oskar’s Kitchen, a small neighborhood joint located just a few blocks from Key Arena, where the Sonics played through the majority of the ’90s and were set to spend a couple of seasons before their new home was to be built in downtown Seattle. Business would’ve benefitted, to say the least.

And yet, despite the failed attempt, Kemp hasn’t given up hope. We spoke with the six-time All-Star, who averaged 14.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game over the course of his 14-season career, for a feature in the upcoming issue of KICKS—which we’ll be able to tell you all about shortly—and he made clear he believes the city will be given a franchise soon enough. “I’m not going anywhere,” Kemp said. “We got a little bit of a delay with the votes that came back from the NBA, and we understood why. We understood Mr. Stern is going out of the office and he didn’t want to take the chance with anything negative happening with another NBA team, but we’re pretty confident here in Seattle that within the next two to three years we’re gonna have some basketball back this way.”

As far as Oskar’s goes, Kemp sounds confident it’ll persevere: “[The restaurant is] gonna survive,” he said. “I work with a good, talented group of people. The restaurant is gonna be in good shape. We still get a lot of people there on a daily basis. It takes a little more work, just to be creative [to bring patrons in], but I think the restaurant will be fine. I think the restaurant will stay strong and we’ll keep doing positive things with it.”

Once the NBA’s Board of Governors blocked the move to Seattle, this was a mere formality. Today, they voted unanimously to allow the sale of the Kings to a Sacramento group led by software tycoon Vivek Ranadive. Per the AP: “The NBA said in a statement Tuesday that the ‘transaction is expected to close shortly.’ After league owners blocked the sale and relocation of the franchise to Seattle earlier this month, the Maloof family reached an agreement to sell a 65 percent controlling interest in the Kings to Ranadive’s group at a total franchise valuation of $535 million. The group also includes 24 Hour Fitness founder Mark Mastrov, former Facebook senior executive Chris Kelly and the Jacobs family that owns communications giant Qualcomm.”

Too bad, Maloof bros. Despite your desperate attempts to move the Kings to Seattle, thanks to a 22-8 vote today by the NBA’s Board of Governors, Sacramento will retain its basketball team. Per the Sac Bee: “While the proposed move by the team to Seattle was turned down, the issue of who will own the team has not been settled. In a press conference following the meeting of the league’s 30 owners, NBA Commissioner David Stern said the league would encourage the Maloofs, who own the Kings, to sell to an investor group led by Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur Vivek Ranadive. ‘We will talk to the Maloofs and seek in the next 24 to 48 hours whether we can help facilities a deal between the Ranadive group and the Maloofs for the sale of the franchise in Sacramento,’ Stern said. The commissioner acknowledged that the Maloofs could refuse to sell, but added, ‘It is my expectation that we will be able to make a deal with the Maloofs and the Ranadive group to transfer title in Sacramento.’ The Ranadive group has offered the Maloofs $341 million for their controlling 65 percent stake in the Kings, far less than the $406 million that the Seattle group led by hedge fund manager Chris Hansen had offered. Of Seattle’s prospects for getting an NBA expansion team, Stern said there was nothing to announce. ‘We look forward to continuing a dialogue of some type with the citizens and the (Seattle) investors,’ he said. The Maloofs had said they would seek league approval for an alternative deal with the Hansen group if the NBA owners rejected the relocation — and with it — the sale of the team. Alternatively, the Maloofs proposed to sell 20 percent of the team to Hansen. Stern said that deal was not signed, however. ‘The big winner here was Sacramento,’ Stern said.”

In their ongoing efforts to remain the most hated men in all of Sacramento, the Maloof brothers are said to be threatening not to sell the Kings to the group the NBA recently recommended (one that would keep the team in town.) The only good news here, is that all of this madness will soon come to an end. Per the Sac Bee: “The fight for the Kings took another wild turn Saturday, with the Maloofs threatening not to sell the team to Sacramento’s investor group if the NBA blocks the family’s deal with bidders from Seattle. Two sources close to Sacramento’s bidders said they’ve been told the Maloofs won’t do business with them – and have made a backup deal with Seattle’s investors in case their pending $406 million sale is thwarted. According to these two sources, the backup deal calls for the Maloofs, who have struggled financially in recent years, to sell just a 20 percent share of their interest to Seattle investors Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer. A source familiar with the situation said the Maloofs would get $125 million for that share. While that’s just a fraction of the payout the Maloofs have been expecting, they would remain in control of the Kings if the backup plan is accepted by the league. […] The NBA board of governors would have to approve the Maloofs’ backup plan, but it’s far from certain the board would approve a deal that keeps the controversial family in control of the team. The Maloofs angered many around the league last year when they scuttled a plan for a new Sacramento arena personally negotiated by NBA Commissioner David Stern. The NBA’s relocation panel has already recommended against the move to Seattle but will meet again by conference call Monday to hash out the latest developments, a source said. The NBA’s finance/advisory committee – which is in charge of vetting potential new owners – will also meet by phone Monday. Their recommendations could set up what could be a climactic decision on the Kings’ fate Wednesday in Dallas, where the entire board of governors will meet. The board consists of owners of all 30 teams.”

The League’s relocation committee, made up of 12 NBA owners, has voted unanimously that owners deny the application for the Sacramento Kings to relocate to Seattle.

The stunning news was announced via conference call Monday afternoon, and on May 15, the Board of Governors will vote on the matter which has dragged on for three years.

Per the Sac Bee:

A powerful committee of NBA team owners on Monday rejected the Kings’ proposed relocation to the Pacific Northwest. The unanimous 7-0 vote by the league’s relocation committee could kill the $357 million deal the Maloof family struck to sell the team to investors from Seattle. It sets up a final decision in mid-May by the league’s board of governors, consisting of all 30 team owners. While clearly elated, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson was careful not to declare victory at a press conference attended by cheering fans at Firestone Public House in midtown. “It is not over yet,” said the former NBA star, who lobbied league executives relentlessly to keep the Kings in town. “I feel like we have won a round in the playoffs. … There is still work to be done. We do not want to dance in the end zone.”

NBA Commissioner David Stern told an NBA TV reporter at a playoff game in Atlanta late Monday that he was surprised the vote was unanimous, but added, “They decided as strong as the Seattle bid was, and it was very strong, there’s some benefit that should be given to a city that has supported us for so long and has stepped up to contribute to build a new building as well.” He said the full board’s vote would come May 15. Amid the celebration in Sacramento Monday, it remained unclear whether the Maloofs, thwarted by their fellow owners, would accept the backup offer from a group of investors angling to keep the Kings in Sacramento. The family had no comment on the committee vote.

The Maloof family has had an agreement in place since January to sell a 65% controlling stake in the Kings’ franchise to a Seattle group led by Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer.

Hansen — while quoting Muhammad Ali — says that despite the relocation committee’s recommendation, this fight is not over:

“While we are disappointed with the relocation committee’s recommendation, we just wanted to let you all know that we remain fully committed to seeing this transaction through.”

The full vote next month will ultimately determine their fate, but from the look of things at the moment, Sacramento appears to have beaten the odds and may keep their beloved Kings after all.

The Maloof family, owners of the Sacramento Kings, have informed the NBA that they prefer the offer from the folks in Seattle. The Maloofs claims that there is a “significant distance between us and the Sacramento group.” A date for a vote on the Kings’ fate by the League’s board of governors has yet to be determined: “In a letter sent to the NBA’s relocation and finance committee, and obtained by The Associated Press on Friday, the Maloof family said the Sacramento group originally matched the $525 million valuation for the franchise negotiated by Chris Hansen, who is heading the Seattle group. Hansen then increased the valuation offer to $550 million last week. The Maloofs said the Sacramento group has asked not to enter into a binding agreement until the Seattle deal is terminated. The Maloofs said that would be a breach of contract and cost them the ‘leverage to aggressively renegotiate terms in the event the existing agreement is terminated.’ The Maloofs said, under terms of the Hansen deal, they were allowed to enter into binding “back-up” offers until owners approve the agreement, according to the letter. The family said it would breach its contract with Hansen if it terminated the deal but that the Sacramento group continues to insist it do so. ‘Based on these factors … we and our advisors see no reason to continue any dialogue with the Sacramento group or to give any further consideration to negotiating back-up offers based on its latest non-binding proposal,’ the letter said. […] The Maloofs also had other concerns with Sacramento’s offer. The family said the Sacramento group refused requests to make sure Kings employees’ contracts were not terminated for 18 months after closing the deal. The Maloofs said Hansen’s group agreed to this suggestion ‘without hesitation,’ according to the letter. The Maloofs said important financial information on the Sacramento investors has not been disclosed, and also said Sacramento is ‘significantly behind in its efforts to develop an arena.'”

With fans in Sacramento anxious and exasperated by the whole thing, a decision on the Kings’ possible move to Seattle likely won’t be made until sometime next month (if that.) DeMarcus Cousins says he’d like to stay with the franchise on a long-term basis, but he along with teammates is frustrated by the lack of certainty going forward. Per the Sac Bee: “The regular season ended Wednesday night with the Los Angeles Clippers beating the Kings 112-108 in front of the third sellout crowd of the season at Sleep Train Arena. But the waiting game goes on without a date on which the fate of the Kings will be decided. ‘It’s a tough matter to deal with every year,’ said third-year center DeMarcus Cousins. ‘It’s an annoying situation. You can’t really plan. Most players have an offseason and they can enjoy it and plan it, but for us it’s a different situation. We’ve always got to be on-call. We never know what’s going to happen.’ […] ‘It’s kind of annoying to answer the same question 25 times,’ said forward Jason Thompson. ‘From stepping outside, to after a game, during a game, with the media, social networks, everywhere you go you’re answering the same question. They think we’re the people with the answers, but really it’s the people they don’t know too much about that have all the answers.’ Players learned the Maloofs had reached an agreement to sell a controlling interest in the franchise in January through the media. ‘We should have a lot more information than we do,’ Cousins said. ‘You feel dumb when a fan comes up and asks you because they believe you know, and your response is, ‘I know as much as you do.’ It’s not a good feeling.’ Since the news broke, the players have talked about not letting it affect their play. ‘I don’t think any of this had anything to do with our play,’ said guard Marcus Thornton. ‘At the end of the day, you still have to go out there and play every game like it’s your last.’ That’s not easy. ‘It does bother your focus,’ Cousins said. […] Life for the players will be easier once a sale is approved, but Cousins might have best summed up the sentiment of his teammates. ‘You’ll have more of a comfort level, but honestly, I’m tired of it,’ he said. ‘I’m tired of it.'”

The NBA’s Board of Governors isn’t quite ready yet to make a decision regarding the Sacramento Kings, and their possible move to Seattle. The vote has been postponed. Per the Sac Bee: “The Sacramento-Seattle fight over the Kings basketball team will last at least into next week. National Basketball Association officials said this afternoon the league has postponed this week’s planned decision on whether or not to permit the team to be sold to a Seattle group. Spokesman Tim Frank confirmed a report by Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn that the league’s Board of Governors, which meets Thursday and Friday, will not vote. League officials did not immediately state a reason for the postponement. NBA Commissioner David Stern hinted at a possible delay two weeks ago, when he told reporters the long-awaited decision might not come at the Board of Governors meeting in New York. The news came minutes after the Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson said his investment team is ready to submit a bid to buy the team that it believes can win favor with both the NBA and the Maloof family.”

With the clock racing towards a decision regarding whether the Kings will play in Sacramento or Seattle next season, the team’s current city produced an impassioned ad which will run in Times Square for the next three days. Per the Sac Bee: “A 30-second message about the Kings will air on the giant video board above Times Square starting today, one day before NBA team owners begin deliberating a mile away on whether the team should stay here or move to Seattle. The video will be shown every five minutes for 72 hours; it will include testimonials from Kings fans, business leaders and others. Officials estimate it will be seen by 4.8 million people. The total cost of the project, including buying space on the screen, is around $10,000, said Mike Testa of the Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau. The bureau produced the video with the Sacramento Sports Commission. The hotel community is paying the cost, he said.”

The Seattle group lead by Chris Hansen showed how much they want an NBA team on Friday when they upped their ante for the Sacramento Kings by $25 million to $550 million. Time will only tell if the Sacramento investors’ counter-offer will be enough, as the Board of Governors will meet next week to vote on the potential sale of the team. Per ESPN:

NBA commissioner David Stern said the sale of the Sacramento Kings would not become a bidding war.

Chris Hansen and the group seeking to purchase the Kings and move them to Seattle is making moves that prove otherwise.

The Seattle group led by Chris Hansen and Microsoft chairman Steve Ballmer announced Friday night they had reached agreement with the Maloof family to raise the purchase price of the Kings by $25 million to an NBA-record $550 million.

In a statement on his website, Sonicsarena.com, Hansen said the group has voluntarily raised the purchase price as a sign of commitment in bringing the NBA back to Seattle.

“The Seattle Ownership Group has elected to voluntarily raise its purchase price as a sign of our commitment to bring basketball back to our city and our high degree of confidence in our arena plan, our financing plan, the economic strength of the Seattle market, individual and corporate support for the team and, most importantly, the future of the NBA,” Hansen said.

According to Sac Bee sources, the Maloof family is willing to sell the Sacramento Kings to investors who would keep the team in town. Those investors just have to come up with the right dollar amount, by today’s Maloof-imposed deadline: “The Maloofs are not people who sit patiently and quietly on the sidelines. The Kings’ owners love fast food and fast cars, and right now, they are looking for the fastest exit out of Sacramento. They want their money and they want to pursue another professional sports franchise in Major League Baseball or the NHL, hence their 5 p.m. deadline today for the Sacramento-based investors to submit a written matching offer for the Kings. Seattle investors Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer have an agreement with the Maloofs to purchase a majority interest in the team for $341 million – including a $30 million nonrefundable deposit – and have applied to the league for relocation. The NBA board of governors, made up of the 30 team owners, must approve all sales and relocations; only eight votes are needed to block a sale. On Thursday, sources close to the Maloofs said that if the Sacramento group submits a matching offer that satisfies the league’s other owners, they will embrace an outcome that keeps the Kings in Sacramento. […] While Kings fans remain angry about the family’s repeated attempts to relocate the team – and, more recently, to sell and relocate – the Maloofs would prefer to avoid a scorched-earth departure from Sacramento, where they presided over several very successful seasons. For this to happen, the sources said, a counter offer must match the Hansen/Ballmer bid and give the NBA a reason to reject the sale. ‘We’re giving Sacramento every opportunity to keep the team,’ one source said Thursday, ‘but they keep blowing every deadline. We haven’t seen anything in writing.'”

According to the Sac Bee, the Maloofs have given investors looking to keep the Kings in Sacramento a Friday deadline to submit a counter-offer: “The Maloof family has given Sacramento an ultimatum: Come up with a solid bid to purchase the Kings by 5 p.m. Friday, or we won’t even entertain your overtures. A source close to those negotiations told The Bee on Wednesday that the Maloofs have given the ultra-wealthy investors seeking to keep the team in Sacramento two more days to submit a written, binding ‘backup’ offer that matches the deal the family has in place to sell the franchise to a group in Seattle. If the Maloofs receive a matching offer by the end of business Friday, they will consider it as a serious backup proposal should the NBA nullify their tentative deal with Seattle, the source said. If the offer doesn’t arrive in time – or falls short of matching the Seattle bid – the Maloofs said they wouldn’t negotiate with the Sacramento group. The source, who was not authorized to speak about the deal, said the NBA a few weeks ago forwarded a ‘statement of interest’ in buying the team to the Maloofs from Sacramento-based investors. NBA Commissioner David Stern later said the dollar amount in that offer was substantially lower than the deal on the table from Seattle. The source described that initial bid as “not even close” to the reported $341 million offer from Seattle. Since that initial offer was made March 1 by East Bay health club financier Mark Mastrov, the Sacramento team has pitched a more lucrative bid to the NBA.”

One of the key players in the ownership group hoping to keep the Kings in Sacramento, Ron Burkle, is no longer in the picture due to a conflict of interest. Mayor Kevin Johnson insists that this is not a setback. Per the SacBee: “Ten days before the NBA decides whether the Kings stay in Sacramento, a key investor in the effort has been forced into a secondary role. Beverly Hills billionaire Ron Burkle, a driving force for the past two years in trying to keep the Kings from leaving town, will not invest in the team or the proposed Downtown Plaza arena, Mayor Kevin Johnson announced Monday afternoon. Facing questions over a conflict of interest, Burkle instead will focus on redeveloping other portions of Downtown Plaza. ‘He’s so committed to Sacramento,’ the mayor said, adding that he spoke with Burkle on Monday. ‘There’s a host of ancillary development opportunities that Ron will participate in.’ Burkle was going to take the lead in developing the proposed $448 million arena and would have held a small ownership stake in the team. Sacramento officials had said his presence was a huge asset in part because he successfully developed a new arena three years ago for his hockey team, the Pittsburgh Penguins. Johnson insisted that Burkle’s new role would not deflate the effort to keep the Kings from going to Seattle, and said other investors would pick up the financial slack. He did not give specifics. ‘I don’t look at this as a slow-up or a hiccup,’ he said. ‘We won’t miss a beat.’ He said that NBA team owners, who met with the Sacramento investors last week, were comfortable with the shifting arrangement. With Burkle taking a back seat, software magnate Vivek Ranadive and East Bay health-club financier Mark Mastrov ‘are going to be the lead investors’ on the team and arena, the mayor said.”

The ownership groups from Sacramento and Seattle made their pitches to the NBA about why they should have the Kings, but the League says the issue remains far too complex for a decision to be made anytime soon. David Stern and Adam Silver said the other 29 team owners need more time and information before a vote can take place. Per TNT: “The decision on where the Sacramento Kings will play basketball next season might not be made by the April 18 Board of Governors meeting, NBA Commissioner David Stern said Wednesday, detailing the full complexity of the decision the league has to make on whether to keep the Kings in Sacramento or approve a sale of them and move to Seattle in time for next season. Stern and Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver on Wednesday seemed genuinely uncertain about how this years-long saga will finally play out, saying their owners needed to amass more information about numerous topics before they could even begin to make a call on which city will win and which will lose. ‘There are questions that the committee has asked us, the staff, to go back and seek details and answers on,’ Stern said at a late afternoon news conference. The main questions, Stern said, centered on the arena plans for each city — specifically, how soon they could go up, potential legal obstacles to the buildings in each city and the capital commitments that will be required from each group. The time frame for getting the new arenas built is central to each city’s bid because both Key Arena in Seattle and Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento are, as Stern put it, ‘suboptimal arenas’ that the Kings would have to play in for some period of time, ‘given the fact that there is no finality to the construction schedules in either city,’ he said. ‘And so we have a lot of work to do from a construction timeline, a regulatory timeline, an ownership and capital structure timeline, and all kinds of other things that the committee has asked us to go back, with lawyers, and just get a lot more data and information.’ Officials from Sacramento and Seattle made their pitches to the combined Relocation and Finance committees, with Stern and Silver sitting in. Owners present included: Spurs owner Peter Holt, the chairman of the Board of Governors; Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor; Thunder owner Clay Bennett, the chair of the relocation committee; Knicks chairman James Dolan; Wizards owner Ted Leonsis; Raptors owner Larry Tanenbaum; Pacers owner Herb Simon; and Celtics chairman Wyc Grousbeck. Showing an uncertainty in public that is rare, Stern and Silver detailed the labrynth of issues that will be necessary for owners to navigate in the coming weeks. But those issues may prove too complicated to be resolved one way or another by the 18th, even as the NBA understands it needs to make a choice.”

Sac-Town mayor Kevin Johnson continues to push forward in his quest to keep the Kings in town. KJ helped wrangle a 7-2 vote out of the city council in favor of a new $448 million arena. Per the Sac Bee: “After more than three hours of impassioned pleas and debate, the council agreed late Tuesday to a nonbinding term sheet on a $448 million arena at Downtown Plaza. The city would contribute $258 million, most of it by borrowing against future revenue generated by downtown parking meters and garages. It was the second time in a little more than a year that the council voted to build a new arena for the Kings. But while Tuesday night’s vote brought a standing ovation and chants of “Sacramento!” from the Kings fans who packed council chambers for the vote, there was also a sobering realization that the Kings’ fate has yet to be decided. The arena proposal – along with a bid to buy the team itself – will be presented in New York on April 3 to a select committee of NBA owners, who will weigh Sacramento’s plan alongside a competing offer from Seattle. All the owners will meet April 18 to vote on whether the team should stay or go. ‘We’re not jumping the gun yet. We know this is the next step we need to take,’ said Kings fan Troy Bedal, who showed up nearly an hour before the meeting to make sure he got a seat. ‘We’re not getting ahead of ourselves.'”

Investors and the city of Sacramento continue to scrap and pull out all of the stops in an effort to retain the Kings. A fourth “whale” equity investor was unveiled. Per News10: “Vivek Ranadive, the third ‘whale’ equity investor to join Ron Burkle and Mark Mastrov in the effort to keep the Kings in Sacramento, spoke publicly for the first time since the city of Sacramento announced they had a reached a deal to build an arena at the Downtown Plaza site. ‘Every now and then you have an opportunity that’s bigger than yourself,’ Ranadive said. ‘And the opportunity to keep the Kings in Sacramento, when the mayor called and asked me about it, I couldn’t possibly say no.’ Ranadive’s addition to the Burkle-Mastrov team came as surprise last Thursday while the group was in negotiations with the city. Then Monday night, Ranadive had another surprise, the announcement of a fourth ‘whale’ equity investor: the Jacobs family of San Diego who helped start Qualcomm. ‘We’ve also assembled a dream team of investors and owners. One of the lessons I learned was to surround myself with people a lot smarter than me, and so my partners are all smarter than me,’ said Ranadive. ‘So we now have people from all economic centers of the state, from San Diego, L.A. and from the Bay Area, all coming together to keep the Kings in Sacramento.’ The team of Ranadive-Mastrov-Burkle-Jacobs along with the city of Sacramento will now have to convince the NBA Board of Governors their deal to keep the Kings in Sacramento is stronger than Steve Ballmer and Chris Hansen’s bid to move the team to Seattle. Both groups will make their formal pitches to the NBA on April 3, with the official vote on April 18 or 19 in New York. […] One possible advantage the Ranadive-led group may have over the Hansen-Ballmer bid is the ability to help the Sacramento Kings and the NBA grow globally. Two years ago, Ranadive made history when he brought Bollywood Night to the Golden State Warriors where he is currently a minority owner, and broadcast the first live NBA game in his native India.”

The city of Sacramento, in its ongoing attempts to retain the Kings, announced a new arena deal over the weekend. Mayor Kevin Johnson and the business partners behind the deal hope this will help keep the team from moving to Seattle. Per the Sac Bee: “Sacramento officials announced Saturday they have reached a deal for the largest redevelopment project in city history – a $447.7 million arena at the Downtown Plaza, with up to 1.5 million square feet of offices, housing, stores and a high-rise hotel. The public-private partnership agreement, announced in nine rapid-fire tweets by Mayor Kevin Johnson, puts the city on track to make a last-minute pitch to NBA officials in New York in two weeks to keep the Sacramento Kings from leaving town for Seattle. It would require the city to commit $258 million in value, or 58 percent of the arena cost. Of that, $212 million would come from selling bonds backed by future revenues from city downtown parking garages. The city’s contribution is the same as it was in last year’s aborted project to build an arena at the downtown railyard. The city also agreed to give the private development group the city’s empty 100-acre plot next to Sleep Train Arena in North Natomas, as well as six other city properties, five of them adjacent to or near the downtown arena site. In total, the city properties have been valued at $38 million, according to city officials. The agreement calls for the private development team to contribute $190 million to building the arena. That team is made of up investment billionaire Ron Burkle, 24 Hour Fitness founder Mark Mastrov and Vivek Ranadive, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur. The city would own the arena; the private group would operate it and be responsible for its ongoing upkeep. The city would be guaranteed a minimum of $1 million in arena revenues annually, with bump-ups if arena revenues hit certain levels. […] The complex deal, which sets a September 2016 date for opening the new arena, also involves a 5 percent surcharge on tickets for two years at Sleep Train Arena, and continuing for the 35-year term of the lease at the new arena. […] The news of the deal broke just after 3 p.m. when the mayor hit the Twittersphere with a series of jubilant tweets, noting that the deal avoids new taxes, protects the city on an existing $70 million loan to the Kings and involves ‘no net impact on the general fund.'”

Vivek Ranadive, part of the ownership group for the Golden State Warriors (he serves as a limited partner and vice chairman), is a last-minute addition to the crew bidding to keep the Sacramento Kings from moving to Seattle. Per the Sac Bee: “Although city officials said they’re confident they’ll get a deal done on a new arena, there isn’t a lot of time: The plan must get OK’d first by the City Council, and Sacramento has to pitch its proposal to a group of key NBA owners in less than two weeks. Vivek Ranadive, an Indian-born software tycoon who lives in Silicon Valley, was unveiled as the man who will lead the bid for the team itself. Already a part owner of the Golden State Warriors, he takes the reins from East Bay health-club financier Mark Mastrov. A source familiar with the situation said Mastrov – whose initial bid was described as inadequate by the NBA – will remain a major partner in the bid. The third investor in the Sacramento effort, Beverly Hills billionaire Ron Burkle, was continuing to negotiate a deal with city officials on a new arena at Downtown Plaza. But in a somewhat unsettling development for the city, officials were unable Thursday to complete the so-called term sheet outlining the city’s subsidy and other elements of the deal. The document was supposed to be released to the public in the afternoon. The item is still scheduled for a City Council vote next Tuesday. And even as negotiations continued Thursday evening, City Manager John Shirey plowed ahead with the first of three scheduled public forums at City Hall to discuss the arena project. ‘I’m still optimistic that we’re going to get the points resolved,’ Shirey said. ‘I do not have that feeling that we’re not going to come together.'”

With high-ranking NBA executives monitoring events closely from their suburban New York homes – one suspects, almost as closely as folks in Seattle – the mayor outlined the most current state of the Kings’ affairs as follows: Mark Mastrov, the founder of 24 Hour Fitness, is the point man for an ownership group that will submit a proposal countering the $341 million offer the Maloofs have accepted from Seattle-based moguls Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer; Ron Burkle, the supermarket tycoon, will lead efforts to build an arena; the plans include replacing the Downtown Plaza with a sports and entertainment complex. There were few specifics but several other interesting offerings of note. Johnson said the list of local investors committing at least $1 million includes former Kings star Mitch Richmond. He revealed that WNBA officials have been approached about bringing back the Monarchs. Later, he seemed to leave an opening for inclusion of John Kehriotis and the Kings’ other limited partners. “Who are we?” the mayor asked the pro-Kings, pro-downtown crowd. “What defines us as a city?”

Mastrov and the local investors’ bid is “slightly lower,” than the $341 million that the Chris Hansen-Steve Ballmer group has agreed to pay for the available 65 percent of the Kings, a high-level source involved in the talks said. “They have a shot,” the source said. “It’s still a long shot, but the bid will be close enough to cause real debate.”

Despite all of the rhetoric, the Kings’ future remains very hazy. The Maloofs are expected to “entertain” the counter-offer from the folks in Sacramento, but there’s no telling if that can or will change anything. They seem fairly hellbent on getting out of Sac-Town.

It won’t be an easy exit, if Kevin Johnson and the investors he speaks for are to be believed: “This situation before us is a defining moment,” Johnson said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that will shape who are we. So with all due respect to Seattle, and I absolutely do wish them well. And I do hope they get a team someday. But let me perfectly clearly. Let me be perfectly, crystal clear. It is NOT going to be this team.”

By virtually all accounts, the Sacramento Kings appear well on their way out of Sac-Town. The sale has of the team has begun, the NBA’s Board of Governors is expected to approve it, and they should be playing in Seattle by the start of next season. Unless, of course, a group of deep-pocketed investors can convince the League to keep the franchise right where it is. Per the Sac Bee and the AP: “Billionaire Ron Burkle and Bay Area investor Mark Mastrov are in serious discussions to team up on a bid to buy the Sacramento Kings and partner with the city of Sacramento on a plan to help finance a new downtown sports arena. A source familiar with the negotiations said that Burkle and Mastrov are both committed to keeping the team in Sacramento and building the Kings into a contender. The teaming of Burkle and Mastrov is seen by city officials as a ‘dream team’ counter offer to the group that this week agreed to buy the Kings and move the franchise to Seattle, the source said. Burkle, who owns the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, has been mentioned by both Mayor Kevin Johnson and NBA Commissioner David Stern as a potential suitor of the Kings. Mastrov, the founder of the 24 Hour Fitness chain, made an unsuccessful bid to buy the Golden State Warriors in 2010 and until now had been the only person to publicly express interest in buying the Kings and keeping them here. […] Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson had a stern warning for Seattle SuperSonics fans who are excited about the prospect of the NBA returning to the Puget Sound next season. ‘Don’t celebrate too early,’ he said. In front of a cheering City Hall crowd filled with fans and public officials Tuesday, Johnson introduced the first part of his four-step plan to keep the Sacramento Kings in California’s capital city. The three-time NBA All-Star turned mayor unveiled 19 local investors who have pledged at least $1 million each to be part of a group that would buy the franchise. Johnson said the major partner he hopes will anchor the last-ditch deal to keep the Kings from moving to Seattle will be revealed as soon as this week. ‘We’ve been here before,’ Johnson said. ‘Our backs have been against the wall. They told us it wasn’t going to happen. But each and every step along the way, as long as there is time on the clock, our community always finds a way to stand up for itself.’ […] ‘When I played in the NBA for 12 years, Seattle had some of the best fans in the NBA,’ Johnson said. ‘No different than Sacramento. Incredible fans. And when they lost their team a couple years ago, it was devastating to me, because those fans fought like crazy and rallied and they cheered on the home team. And I strongly believe they deserve an NBA team at some point. Just not ours.'”

“A potential snag was reported today in the Maloof family’s negotiations to sell the Sacramento Kings to a Seattle financier – although a source close to the family continues to insist the two sides haven’t even yet discussed a purchase price. The Seattle Times, citing an unnamed NBA source, said the Maloofs are insisting on maintaining some kind of say in how the team is run after it is sold and relocated to Seattle. The Times and Yahoo Sports have reported that the Maloofs would retain a small ownership stake in the team; the new report by the Times says the family wants to maintain some kind of operational control, as well. Nonetheless, a source close to the Maloofs told The Bee today that the family hasn’t had contact with Seattle financier Chris Hansen since just before Jan. 1 and hasn’t received an offer for the team. ‘I fully expect we will see something,’ said the source, who is not authorized to speak publicly. The source added that the Maloofs don’t necessarily want to sell, but would listen to offers. […] Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson told reporters Wednesday, after news broke of a possible sale, that there are several potential bidders interested in buying the Kings and keeping the team in Sacramento.”

]]>http://www.slamonline.com/nba/sacramento-kings-owner-says-sale-of-team-to-seattle-group-isnt-close/feed/8Sacramento Kings Will Reportedly be Sold to Ownership Group Looking to Move Team to Seattlehttp://www.slamonline.com/nba/sacramento-kings-will-reportedly-be-sold-to-owner-looking-to-move-team-to-seattle/
http://www.slamonline.com/nba/sacramento-kings-will-reportedly-be-sold-to-owner-looking-to-move-team-to-seattle/#commentsWed, 09 Jan 2013 18:50:11 +0000http://www.slamonline.com/online/?p=246805

Bad news for Sacramento-based NBA fans, good news for Seattle-based NBA fans and former SuperSonic enthusiasts: the Maloofs are reportedly on the verge of selling the Kings to an ownership group looking to move the franchise further north. Via Yahoo!‘s Adrian Wojnarowski:

The Maloofs are finalizing an agreement to sell the Sacramento Kings to the Hansen-Ballmer led Seattle group, sources tell Yahoo! Sports.

Virginia Beach is no longer a possible relocation destination for the Sacramento Kings, but the team’s future in Sac-Town — with cities like Seattle continuing to be players — is as cloudy (and seemingly ill-fated) as ever. Per the Sacramento Bee: “The Sacramento Kings have ended their flirtation with Virginia Beach, Va., but the uncertainty over their future continues. Virginia Beach halted its long-shot bid Tuesday to lure the Kings. But other cities, namely Seattle, remain interested in the troubled franchise. Deeply in debt, the Kings play in a badly outdated arena before the NBA’s smallest crowds – and are locked in a stalemate with Sacramento over how to remedy that. […] (Maloof) family spokesman Eric Rose wouldn’t comment on the Virginia Beach situation Tuesday but noted ‘we have been contacted by several cities and parties interested in the Sacramento Kings.’ None of the parties ever confirmed it was the Kings who were being recruited by Virginia Beach, but the Maloofs’ interest has been widely reported. Co-owner George Maloof reportedly met with Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell last fall, before the city unveiled a $426 million package that was almost completely taxpayer-funded. Mayor Will Sessoms pulled the plug after arena developer Comcast-Spectacor told him it was unable to clinch a deal with the team. ‘This just ain’t gonna work at this point in time,’ he said. ‘The city will not be chasing this deal.’ He said he wasn’t sure what the sticking points were. Sessoms said he needed a deal done this week so he could ask the Virginia Legislature for a $150 million subsidy. A package needed to be finalized by March 1, the Kings’ deadline for seeking league permission to relocate. The collapse of the Virginia proposal brought cheers from the Kings’ most important fan: Dale Carlsen, chief executive of Sleep Train Mattress Centers, the team’s arena naming-rights sponsor.”

As NBA Commissioner David Stern prepares to step down from his perch atop the League, one of his big final initiatives, is to reportedly steward the return of NBA basketball to Seattle. According to Yahoo! Sports: “Between now and his departure, Stern is determined to get a franchise back into Seattle, league sources said. He has become a strong ally of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s group to bring back the NBA there. Ballmer’s group has been trying to get the Maloof family to sell the Sacramento Kings, so that the franchise can eventually play in a new arena in Seattle. From the league office, pressure on the Maloofs to sell has been growing, sources said – just as hopes for a new Sacramento arena have been fading. Seattle Sonics fans will never forgive Stern for his complicit role in Clay Bennett’s deception to move that franchise to Oklahoma City, but make no mistake: Stern desperately wants to return the NBA to one of its great markets and wants it for his own measure of vindication before he leaves office. As one source involved in the process said, ‘Stern has enough time to get a team back to Seattle, but he’ll let Silver deal with the crowd [booing] on opening night.'”

The city of Seattle recently approved a plan to build a new arena that would house pro basketball and hockey teams. NBA commissioner David Stern says that he’d like to see a hoops team return to Seattle within five years. Per the Boston Globe: “Commissioner David Stern offered this little nugget on the future of basketball in Seattle, which just approved a new arena plan when talking to reporters in Milan, Italy. ‘It would be my hope that within the time frame that you mentioned, five years, that if everything works out perfectly, there would be a new arena and new team in Seattle. That’s always, for the board of governors, but I know that many governors are favorably inclined.'”

The dream of bringing an NBA team back to Seattle took a step towards reality, as city council approved a new arena deal. Per King 5: “The Seattle City Council voted 6 to 2 Monday to approve a plan to build a new sports arena in the city’s SODO district. Members of the council signed off on investor Chris Hansen’s plan to build a $490 million arena near the Seahawks and Mariners stadiums. The plan calls for $200 million in public investment, but construction would not begin until the project passes environmental review and Hansen secures an NBA franchise. Hansen also has personally guaranteed to cover the city’s debt if the arena’s finances don’t work out.”

The city council in Seattle isn’t satisfied with investor Chris Hansen’s initial proposal to bring back an NBA squad, and his plan to build an arena that’s paid for in part by public funds. Per the AP: “The Council wants to alter a memorandum of understanding between Chris Hansen and the city to ensure that a portion of tax revenues generated by a new arena would help pay for local transportation improvements. Currently, the proposal calls for those taxes to be used to pay off the $200 million in city and county bonds that would be issued to help pay for the $490 million arena. Traffic concerns in the SoDo neighborhood – where Safeco Field, CenturyLink Field and the Port of Seattle all share limited neighborhood space – have been at the core of arguments against Hansen’s plan.”

]]>http://www.slamonline.com/nba/seattle-politicians-not-ready-to-support-initiative-to-bring-back-an-nba-team/feed/9Seattle May Vote on New Arena for an NBA Team Next Weekhttp://www.slamonline.com/nba/seattle-may-vote-on-new-arena-for-an-nba-team-next-week/
http://www.slamonline.com/nba/seattle-may-vote-on-new-arena-for-an-nba-team-next-week/#commentsTue, 24 Jul 2012 13:50:37 +0000http://www.slamonline.com/online/?p=221443

The bureaucratic process to bring an NBA team back to Seattle is slowly moving forward, with the King County Council possibly voting on the issue as early as next week. Reports the AP: “The council announced Monday it was moving the memorandum of understanding between investor Chris Hansen and the county out of committee and for a possible full council vote on July 30. Both the county council and the Seattle City Council must approve it. Hansen has proposed a $490 million facility with $290 million in private investment, and the remaining $200 million bonded by the city and county and paid off through arena-generated taxes and revenues over the next 30 years. The amount being bonded is less on the county, and it was initially believed the county wouldn’t vote until after the city took action on the proposal. The city council hasn’t announced a timeline for a possible vote.”

Seattle’s dream of getting an NBA team again continues to move forward, as wealthy businessman Christopher Hansen proposed a $290 million plan for a new arena that could attract a new pro hoops team to the city. From the Seattle Times: “Christopher Hansen is making a $290 million proposal to his hometown that could be the impetus for a new sports arena that could bring the NBA and NHL to Seattle. All he needs is city and county approval equaling $200 million and the two franchises to make it a reality. Hansen, a hedge-fund manager based in San Francisco and a Seattle native, submitted a proposal to the city on Thursday that calls for $290 million in private investment toward the construction of a new arena that would cost between $450 and $500 million. Hansen and his investment group would also be responsible for the purchase of an NBA franchise and finding a partner interested in bringing an NHL franchise to Seattle as well. The proposal represents the first significant step toward solving the arena problem that was at the root of the SuperSonics’ move from Seattle to Oklahoma City following the 2008 NBA season leaving behind 41 years of history. The proposal will now go before a review board – a group of community leaders that includes one-time SuperSonics player and coach Lenny Wilkens – with King County executive Dow Constantine hoping their review can be completed within a month. According to a letter submitted by the Hansen, the remaining construction and development costs would be financed by the city and King County using taxes and revenues generated by the new facility and rent charged to the teams playing in the arena – money that will not exist if the arena isn’t built. City officials are adamant that there will be no new public taxes needed for the building and the city’s portion of the investment will be capped at $200 million with any additional cost overruns paid by the private investors.”

The city of Seattle has never recovered from losing their beloved Sonics in 2008. Since the team was highjacked and taken to Oklahoma City, there’s been scant talk about bringing a team back, but nothing truly substantive took root. Until now.

A wealthy San Francisco hedge-fund manager and officials in the Seattle mayor’s office have been working behind the scenes for eight months to bring an NBA team back to the city as early as next fall and build a new arena, according to emails and documents that reveal a far more concerted effort than previously known. A Dec. 13 agenda for a meeting between the parties shows they were talking about details such as a “Review of Basic Deal Structure,” “Financing Issues,” including “City Debt Capacity,” and “Security for Public Financing.”

The documents, released Friday to The Seattle Times under a public-disclosure request, also provide the first glimpse of how the largely unknown hedge-fund manager, 44-year-old Seattle native Christopher Hansen, approached the city about his desire to buy an NBA team and build an arena south of Safeco Field. In an initial email laying out his vision, Hansen told city officials an arena could be built with minimal impact on taxpayers.

According to the published report, there’s talk of possibly relocating the Sacramento Kings to Seattle.

This is all obviously very early stages. But there are some encouraging signs here for passionate NBA fans in the Seattle area.

The city of Seattle will not get to see Kevin Durant in the flesh as it had been anticipating, thanks to the NBA lockout seemingly coming to an end. From the Seattle Times: “NBA players and owners have reached a tentative labor agreement, which will send the players back to work soon. But it means the H206 Classic, a charity game organized by Jamal Crawford to be played Dec. 15 at Edmundson Pavilion, has been canceled. According to the H206 website (www.hoops-206.com) tickets will be refunded by noon Thursday. Crawford and organizers are looking for possible dates next summer to play the game, according to the website.”

The beloved Sonics may no longer play in Seattle, but Kevin Durant will get a chance to hoop in the city again thanks to a Jamal Crawford-organized charity exhibition game. From the Seattle Times: “Kevin Durant is returning to Seattle. The former Sonics star is one of several players highlighting an NBA charity game organized by Jamal Crawford that will be played Dec. 15 at Edmundson Pavilion. ‘Kevin and I played in three different all-star games together and after the first one, he was like ‘I want to come home, I want to come back to Seattle,’ Crawford said. ‘He wants to come a week earlier to work out with me and Brandon (Roy) and the guys. He’s excited about coming back. I don’t think he’s been back ever since they left. And honestly, he’s mentioned playing this game in Seattle about 4-5 times. So it was important that we get him.’ Proceeds from the Jamal Crawford H206 Classic benefit the A PLUS Youth Program and the Jamal Crawford Foundation. Former Sonics Nick Collison and Jeff Green are also scheduled to play along with ex-Washington stars Brandon Roy, Nate Robinson, Spencer Hawes and Isaiah Thomas, and local NBA products Jason Terry and Terrence Williams. Other players include: Baron Davis, LaMarcus Aldridge, John Wall, Rudy Gay, Brandon Jennings and DeMar DeRozan.”

Ever since Seattle lost the Sonics, a few charity exhibition games have been played there by NBA players to help temporarily fill the void. Jamal Crawford says he’s planning to host another one next month. Per the Seattle Times: “Jamal Crawford, a Seattle product who is an NBA free agent, talked about the lockout, his charity work and an upcoming game at KeyArena in a live chat Thursday. Q: Any other projects in the works? Crawford: ‘We have a lot of projects going, actually. Myself, Brandon Roy, Spencer Hawes, Isaiah Thomas, Will Conroy, Cam Chancellor, for Thanksgiving we’re going to feed 2,000 families. We’re doing that at Rainier Community Center.’ Q: Will you have another charity game here soon? Crawford: ‘We will have a charity game here, I think in December, right before Christmas. People around the Northwest are going to be happy about some of the players who are coming in. Kevin Durant, John Wall, Carmelo Anthony, Russell Westbrook, Brandon Jennings, LaMarcus Aldridge … you guys stay tuned. You can follow me on Twitter and through The Seattle Times for sure. It’s going to be a heck of a game with a lot of NBA stars, and I think Seattle deserves that.’ … Q: How do you feel about the Thunder? Crawford: ‘I like the Thunder, but I like the Sonics more.'”

After scoring 27 points in the victory for team “Seattle” in the H206 Charity Basketball Classic over the weekend, Spencer Hawes led the crowd at KeyArena in a chant for the city to get back its pro hoops team. From the Seattle Times: “After a 2 ½-hour NBA exhibition that felt like a celebration of Seattle basketball, Philadelphia 76ers center Spencer Hawes grabbed the microphone and walked to midcourt. The former Washington Husky and Seattle Prep star, who shaved a silhouette of the Space Needle on the back of his head for this game, led a KeyArena crowd of 5,070 in a postgame rally cry. ‘I just want to leave y’all with one last thing,’ Hawes shouted. ‘Come home, Sonics! Come home, Sonics!’ The chant echoed around the building for a few seconds, but it remains to be seen if state politicians in Olympia or NBA executives in the league office in New York — the power brokers who could make Hawes’ demand a reality — were listening. ‘I sure hope those people could see what I saw today and feel what I felt,’ Hawes said. ‘It was real. It felt important. … Today proved Seattle will support a team whenever the time is right. It’s a good message and sometimes you need something, a catalyst to get the ball rolling. I don’t want to say this is going to be that, but we raised some money for a good cause and maybe this is the first step to bringing the Sonics back home. So in my book, it’s a win-win.'”

Tragically, Seattle no longer has an NBA team. But Brandon Roy and other NBAers will give that city’s hoops fans a small glimpse of NBA action during an exhibition game this weekend. From the Oregonian: “Blazers guard Brandon Roy headlines the field of the H206 Charity Basketball Classic, billed as ‘a state-wide public celebration showcasing the contribution of basketball to the Pacific Northwest.’ Roy will lead a ‘Seattle’ team, made up of players from the area, which will take on a ‘League’ team of NBA and recently-drafted players from outside the Seattle area. Roy’s Seattle team includes former Blazer Martell Webster, who plays for Minnesota; former University of Oregon star Aaron Brooks, who is a restricted free agent with the Suns; and Atlanta guard Jamal Crawford, a former NBA Sixth Man of the Year award winner. The League team includes Nolan Smith, who was drafted by the Blazers out of Duke last month; Kyle Singler, the former South Medford High School star who was Smith’s teammate at Duke and was drafted by Detroit; and former University of Portland star Pooh Jeter, who played for Sacramento this past season and is a free agent. The game tips off at 3:30 p.m. and is preceded by pre-game festivities starting at 2 p.m. that will include three-point, skills and halfcourt shot competitions. The halftime festivities will include a tribute to the Sonics 1979 NBA championship, with Lenny Wilkens, Fred Brown, Jack Sikma, Gus Williams, Paul Silas and Wally Walker invited to appear.”

Maybe not tomorrow, according to the Commish, but someday: “With a public-relations staff member tape-recording our brief interview, Stern was asked what he thought Seattle should do next. ‘The next step is really the right putative owner, who really wants to have a team and is prepared to do what it takes, working together with the city, the state to get an arena and get the job done,’ he said. ‘I think ultimately there will be [another team in Seattle]. I really do.'”